Last year, James Ryan delivered a commencement speech that, to his surprise, struck a chord far beyond the graduates in his audience. The dean of Harvard's graduate school of education proposed five essential questions to always keep in mind on the path through life.

The questions are simple, but expansive and powerful. "Wait, what?" is a way to pause, clarify, and understand. "I wonder…?" encourages curiosity. "How can I help?" suggests a level of thoughtfulness that should accompany our instincts to be of use. "Couldn't we at least...?" offers a way of broaching an impasse. And "What truly matters?" is that kind of home-base question many of us lose sight of in the crush of daily concerns.

The speech has gotten